Relaxation
by Hopeful Writer
Summary: Good God, awful title. Ignore it. Short story that I wrote because of the moment. Fred and Hermione talk over a chess match and some feelings are revealed.


Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. That is owned by the fabulous JK Rowling. I've never met her, nor shared in any business deals with her. Although I do look a bit like her (coughnotcough).

A/N - I got this idea while working on my math homework (no rest, even in the summer) and listening to This Kiss by Faith Hill. Also a bit of inspiration from Tegan's story Their Room. Hermione's a brilliant student and all, but something's missing. Is it going to take Fred Weasley to fill the gap? Just a little short story because I'm in the mood. Not even something to bother my beta-readers with (especially because I'm still waiting for them to read another).

Shout outs to Dreamer4, Dark Gamer, Light Gamer, EeyoreP, Knight, SaturnsChild, EvilTenchi, Galassos Gal 124, PhoniexChild, TogetherAgain, Wolfie, Arylwren, Archangeluk, Digicowboy, Blackout12, Phire Phoenix, Authormon, Insane Friend 02, alfogamer2, Takari's Baybee, Immia, AlexPG13, DJ Clue (I'm sorry), and shadow2k.

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Relaxation

By: Hopeful Writer

Hermione Granger worked studiously on her Arithmancy homework, furiously decoding a series of numbers into spells. She only pulled her eyes from the paper to yawn a bit, then immediately fell back into her work. Arithmancy was her favorite subject. When she was in Muggle school, she'd always liked math best, and since Arithmancy did a lot with numbers, she liked it too.

A strong hand pulled Hermione out of her chair and she spun around angrily. Fred Weasley was standing behind her, eyes glittering with mirth. "Come on, Hermione, it's bloody Christmas Eve," he told her, as if she had forgotten.

"Don't swear," Hermione replied automatically. "And I happen to like working, even on Christmas Eve."

Fred sighed. "Hermione," he whined. "Just one game of chess, okay? Please?" His hands were clasped and he looked like a five-year-old begging for candy. "Pretty please?" He gave her puppy-dog eyes and Hermione was forced to cave. For some reason, those big blue eyes always did her in.

"All right, then. One game of chess."

"Excellent!" Fred cried, summoning his board and pieces. Hermione did the same and allowed them to position themselves slowly.

"Pawn to E4," Hermione directed and the game began.

Twenty minutes later, Hermione was losing badly. Most of her good pieces had been captured earlier and she was sitting with a rook, a knight, a bishop, three pawns, and her king. The game had been played mostly in silence up until now, but Fred broke her concentration with, "So, Hermione, how have you been lately? We don't get to talk like this much."

Hermione saw his point. The common room was basically empty except for a few first years on the other side playing Exploding Snap. Harry, Ron, and George had taken off to buy Christmas presents (at the last minute, as usual) and everyone else went back home for the holidays. "I've been okay. Very busy with my schoolwork and everything."

Fred looked up from the board. "Hermione, there's other stuff in life besides school. I know it's important to you, and I know you have fun doing it, but there's other important stuff, too."

He commanded another piece to move, and Hermione did too. "Like what?" she asked finally, knowing he wasn't just talking about sleeping and eating.

Fred moved again, and replied, "Check. Like friends and family. And other things too. Have you ever had a boyfriend?" he demanded.

Hermione flushed, glared at the board, ordered a piece, then spoke. "Viktor."

Fred snorted as he studied the game. "For three weeks. Anybody else?"

Hermione glowered at him. "I've been here since I was eleven. And there are very few people here worth dating. A couple, I mean, but that... that's all." Hermione voice trailed off as she noticed Fred staring at her with a mixture of amusement and interest written on his face. "What?" she inquired.

"Nothing, nothing. I just can't figure you out." He glanced at his pieces and made another move. "Do you _want_ to have a boyfriend?"

Hermione's face turned an interesting shade of pink, making Fred bite back his laughter. "I... I don't know. I... I suppose, if the right person asked me, of course." Her stammering made her blush harder and made Fred choke on his giggles. Hermione shot a look at him before moving her knight and taking his bishop.

"Hey!" he complained. He focused his attention back on his game for a few minutes. Then he looked back up. He leaned back in his chair and studied her while she moved.

"What?" she asked shyly, catching him.

Fred shook his head slowly. "I was wondering how much you really think besides for your schoolwork. How much do you notice? Do you even know that Harry and Ginny are dating (A/N - I totally disagree with this couple, but what the heck)?"

Hermione glared. "Of course. It's been two weeks already."

Fred laughed, this time unable to stop it. "It's been four weeks!" he exclaimed, laughing harder at Hermione's confused look. "They've been going out for four weeks."

"Really?" Fred nodded, and Hermione looked ashamed. "Maybe I have been putting in too much time with my schoolwork. It won't kill me to relax a little, right?"

"Right!" Fred told her cheerfully, happy he was making headway with her. They resumed the game in silence for a while, the only sounds being their commands and the constant bangs in the background from the first years.

A little while later, Hermione caught Fred staring at her again. "What?" she asked again, this time a bit curious.

He grinned. "You're really quite pretty, you know that?"

Hermione blushed. "Nah," she replied modestly.

"No, really," Fred said earnestly. "I never noticed it before, never really had a moment too." Hermione flushed and smiled shyly. "Especially when you do that." He grinned wider, with a bit of a nervous gleam in his eyes. He stood up suddenly, startling Hermione. Leaning across the chess board, he pressed his lips against hers and drank her in. She smelled like cherries and peppermint. Not a combination he normally liked, but it smelled good on her. Her lips were soft on his, her top lip touching his, her bottom between his two. She was tense, but as his hands moved up to play with her hair, she relaxed. His heart was racing and his palms were clammy. He was trembling just a bit, but so was she.

He pulled away as suddenly as he'd kissed her, his face and ears very red. "Hermione, I... uh, well. I, um, oh, Christ!" he cried. "All right. Hermione, I really like you. I've only felt this way once before, only with Angelina and you know how _that_ turned out." Hermione remembered. Fred had gone out with Angelina for three months and she'd cheated on him for Lee Jordan. At the current moment, Fred wasn't speaking to either of them, and neither was George. "Hermione?" She turned her attention back to Fred. "Do you, I mean, well, do you like me?" He sounded so young and vulnerable that Hermione's heart leaped.

"Yes," she said simply. It was so much easier than that stuttering. "I said there were a few boys in Hogwarts that I would date. You were in that list, the top of it to be exact. I've liked you since I became friends with Ron and he introduced us. Well, really introduced us at least."

"You sure you didn't like George?" Fred spat bitterly, moving a chess piece carelessly.

It was then that Hermione knew what he was afraid of, losing his identity. She'd never been a twin, but she figured that identical twins must always have that problem because people could rarely tell them apart. She nodded furiously. "Yes, you. At first it was difficult to separate you. But then I learned how completely different you were. You like Transfiguration. George likes Potions, oddly enough. You like red, George likes blue. George always tucks his shirt in, you never do. You're more outspoken, while George is quieter and more serious sometimes. You're only the same to the skin, and you both like playing pranks. But, Fred, you're _you_, and that's who I like."

Fred was quiet, pleased, but unsure of how to show it. Finally he smiled. "Then that's good enough for me," he admitted, grinning characteristically. "So, um, will you be my girlfriend?"

Hermione leaned in and kissed him gently, delighted by the slow blush that spread over his face. She whispered something to her chess pieces and beamed at Fred. "Checkmate."

A/N - Okay, that's it. Short, sappy, kind of sweet, I guess. Not something I would recommend for any intricate plot twists or amazing battles or anything. Just something for a hopeless romantic who doesn't really have time to focus on anything serious. It's kind of like eating a light meal when you're not hungry. Except this is a light story when you can't quite concentrate. Oh, why am I saying this now, after you've already read it? Well, please review, it makes my day. Bye!!! §--HW--§ (http://www.geocities.com/msbjewel)


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